Compress Image to 20KB
Some application forms accept nothing above 20KB. Drop your photo or signature below, bring the dimensions and quality down while watching the live size, and download as soon as it reads under 20KB. Your file never leaves your device.
Drag & drop images here, or click to select
PNG, JPG, GIF, WebP, HEIC up to 50MB per fileChoose filesWhere a 20KB limit comes from
Limits this small are typical of high-volume application portals: public-service exams, university admissions and recruitment sites that store millions of ID photos. Many state a window, for example a photo between 20KB and 50KB and a signature between 10KB and 20KB.
Read the exact wording. When a minimum is given as well, a file that is too light is rejected just like one that is too heavy. Aim a little under the maximum, not as low as possible.
Keeping a face recognisable at this size
Crop before you compress. Removing empty background around the head and shoulders means the pixels you keep are spent on the face. Then resize to the dimensions the form states, or about 300 px wide if it states none.
Only after that should you touch quality. At small dimensions you can usually stay at 60% or above, where skin and eyes still look natural. If you have to go below 40%, reduce the dimensions further instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Reduce the dimensions first, to around 300–480 px on the long side, then lower the quality slider until the output size shows under 20KB. Quality alone rarely gets a full-size photo that low.
A JPEG portrait of about 200×230 to 350×450 px fits comfortably at 50–70% quality. Above 600 px you would have to drop quality so far that the face turns blocky.
JPEG, unless the form says otherwise. Most forms that set limits this low only accept .jpg or .jpeg, and JPEG handles small photos well.
Easily. A scanned signature is dark ink on white, which compresses very well. At around 300×100 px it often comes out under 10KB.